Top 10 Driver Ratings at Daytona
Kyle Busch 95.9
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 94.1
Denny Hamlin 91.0
Kurt Busch 89.9
Matt Kenseth 88.5
Jimmie Johnson 88.2
Joey Logano 87.4
Kasey Kahne 82.1
Kevin Harvick 81.8
Jamie McMurray 80.2
Note: Driver Ratings are compiled from 2005-2016 races (23 total) at Daytona (active drivers only).
Note: Loop Data is compiled from 2005-2016 races (23 total) at Daytona (active drivers only).
Daytona 500 Tidbits
· The 2017 edition will be the 59th running of the Daytona 500.
· Although the first Daytona 500 was held in 1959, it has been the season-opener only since 1982.
Starts
· 536 drivers have competed in at least one Daytona 500; 321 in more than one.
· Dave Marcis leads the series all-time in Daytona 500 starts with 33; followed by NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty (32) and Terry Labonte (32).
· Michael Waltrip leads all active MENCS drivers in Daytona 500 starts with 29; followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (17) and Matt Kenseth (17).
· Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the series among active drivers with more than one start in the Daytona 500 in average starting position (5.89).
· 12 different manufacturers have made at least one start in the Daytona 500: Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Toyota, Plymouth, Mercury, Chrysler, American Motors Company and Studebaker
Poles
· 40 different drivers have won a Coors Light pole for the Daytona 500; led by Bill Elliott, Cale Yarborough and Buddy Baker with four each.
· Only nine drivers have posted more than one Coors Light pole for the Daytona 500; Jimmie Johnson (two) is the only active driver with more than one Daytona 500 pole.
· Chase Elliott became the youngest Daytona 500 pole winner at the age of 20 years, 2 months, 17 days with his pole last season.
· Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 Daytona 500 poles, the series most: Ken Schrader (1988, 1989, 1990), Jeff Gordon (1999, 2015), Jimmie Johnson (2002, 2008), Mark Martin (2010), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2011) and Chase Elliott (2016).
· Seven different manufacturers have won the pole for the Daytona 500, led by Chevrolet with 24; followed by Ford (12), Pontiac (eight), Mercury (five), Dodge (four), Oldsmobile (three), Plymouth (two).
Wins
· 37 different drivers have won a Daytona 500.
· Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959; he led 38 laps and won by 2 feet.
· Youngest Daytona 500 winner: Trevor Bayne (02/20/2011 - 20 years, 0 months, 1 days)
· Oldest Daytona 500 winner: Bobby Allison (02/14/1988 - 50 years, 2 months, 11 days)
· Nine different manufacturers have won the Daytona 500, led by Chevrolet with 23 victories; followed by Ford (14), Dodge (four), Plymouth (four), Buick (three), Mercury (three), Oldsmobile (three), Pontiac (three) and Toyota (ninth).
· Seven drivers posted their career-first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory with a win in the Daytona 500
· Three other drivers posted their career-first victory in (points-paying) qualifying races: Johnny Rutherford (1963), Bobby Isaac (1964) and Earl Balmer (1966).
· Lee Petty, who won the inaugural Daytona 500, and Trevor Bayne, 2011 Daytona 500 champion, are the only two drivers to win the Daytona 500 in their first appearance.
· 11 drivers have won more than one Daytona 500, led by Richard Petty with seven victories.
· A driver has won back-to-back Daytona 500s three times. Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95).
· The Daytona 500 has been won from the pole position nine times; Bill Elliott (1985, 1987) and Cale Yarborough (1968, 1984) are the only two drivers to accomplish the feat more than once. Dale Jarrett was the most recent driver to win from the pole in 2000.
· The pole position is the most proficient starting position in the Daytona 500 field, producing more winners (nine) than any other position; followed by second-place (seven wins) and fourth-place (seven wins).
· 16 of the 58 Daytona 500s (27.6%) have been won from the front row; nine from the pole position and seven from the second-place position.
· 28 of the 58 Daytona 500s (48.3%) have been won from a top five starting position.
· 42 of the 58 Daytona 500s (72.4%) have been won from a top 10 starting position
· Five of the 58 Daytona 500s (.08%) have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
· Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500 from the 39th starting position in 2009, the deepest a race winner has started.
· Five reigning Monster Energy Cup Series champions have gone on to win the Daytona 500 the following season: Lee Petty (1959), Richard Petty (1973), Cale Yarborough (1977), Jeff Gordon (1999) and Dale Jarrett (2000).
· A driver has swept both the Daytona 500 and the July race only five times at Daytona International Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (2013), Bobby Allison (1982), LeeRoy Yarborough (1969), Cale Yarborough (1968) and Fireball Roberts (1962).
· Seven drivers made 10 or more attempts before their first Daytona 500 victory: Dale Earnhardt (19), Buddy Baker (18), Darrell Waltrip (16), Bobby Allison (14), Michael Waltrip (14) and Sterling Marlin (12) and Denny Hamlin (11).
· The driver with the all-time most Daytona 500 starts without a victory is Dave Marcis with 33 races; Kurt Busch (15) and Kasey Kahne (13) lead all active drivers with the most Daytona 500 starts without a Daytona 500 win.
· Drivers who have won the Daytona 500 in more than one car manufacturer:
Driver - Manufacturer (Number of wins in that manufacturer)
o Richard Petty - Plymouth (3), Dodge (2), Oldsmobile (1) and Buick (1)
o Cale Yarborough - Chevrolet (2), Mercury (1) and Pontiac (1)
o Bobby Allison - Buick (2) and Ford (1)
o Dale Jarrett - Ford (2) and Chevrolet (1)
· Drivers who have won The Clash and the Daytona 500 in the same season:
Driver - (Year)
o Bobby Allison (1982)
o Bill Elliott (1987)
o Dale Jarrett (1996 and 2000)
o Jeff Gordon (1997)
o Denny Hamlin (2016)
· Car Numbers that have produced three or more Daytona 500 victories:
Car Number - Drivers - (Years)
o No. 43 - Richard Petty (1964, '66, '71, '73, '74, '79, '81)
o No. 21 - Tiny Lund (1963), Cale Yarborough (1968), A.J. Foyt (1972), David Pearson (1976) and Trevor Bayne (2011)
o No. 28 - Fred Lorenzen (1965), Buddy Baker (1980), Cale Yarborough (1983 and 1984) and Davey Allison (1992)
o No. 4 - Ernie Irvan (1991), Sterling Marlin (1994 and 1995)
o No. 15 - Bobby Allison (1978), Michael Waltrip (2001 and 2003)
o No. 17 - Darrell Waltrip (1989), Matt Kenseth (2009 and 2012)
o No. 88 - Bobby Allison (1982), Dale Jarrett (1996 and 2000) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2014)
o No. 24 - Jeff Gordon (1997, 1999 and 2005)
o No. 11 - Mario Andretti (1967), Cale Yarborough (1977) and Denny Hamlin (2016)
Additional Finishing Positions
· Dale Earnhardt leads the series in runner-up finishes in the Daytona 500 with five; Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers with four (Earnhardt Jr. is tied with NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough for second most all-time with four).
· Dale Earnhardt had 12 top fives in his 23 Daytona 500 starts, more than any other driver.
· Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers in Daytona 500 top-five finishes with eight (Earnhardt Jr. is tied with Benny Parsons, Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker for fifth most-all-time).
· Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty each posted a series leading 16 top 10s in the Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers in Daytona 500 top-10 finishes with 10.
· Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers in average finishing position in the Daytona 500 with a 13.5 (17 appearances)
Female Competitors
· Danica Patrick on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2013 became the first female in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series history to win a Coors Light pole for the Daytona 500 posting a speed of 196.434 mph.
· Janet Guthrie previously held the record for top starting position by a female NASCAR premier series driver, starting ninth twice in 1977 - at Talladega Superspeedway on Aug. 7, 1977 and at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 28, 1977.
· In 2012, Danica Patrick became the third female driver to compete in a Daytona 500 joining Janet Guthrie and Shawna Robinson. Below are the previous female driver performances in the Daytona 500.
Track / Daytona 500 Specific Stats
· Denny Hamlin's 0.001-second margin of victory over Martin Truex Jr. in the 2016 Daytona 500 is the closest Daytona 500 finish and tied with Atlanta (3/12/2000) and Phoenix (3/13/2016) as the seventh closest MOV since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993.
· Kevin Harvick's 0.020-second margin of victory over Mark Martin in the 2007 Daytona 500 is the 12th-closest overall since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993, and the second closest in Daytona 500 history.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty has led the most laps in a single Daytona 500; leading 184 laps in the 1964 Daytona 500.
· Among active drivers, Denny Hamlin has led the most laps in a single Daytona 500, when he led 95 laps on his way to victory last season.
· Jamie McMurray has led the fewest laps in a Daytona 500 and won - in 2010, McMurray only led two laps on his way to winning the Daytona 500.
· 2011 Daytona 500 had the most all-time lead changes with 74; which is 14 more than the race with second-most lead changes the 1974 Daytona 500 with 60 lead changes.
· The 1964 Daytona 500 won by Richard Petty had the fewest lead changes with a mere six on record.
· 2011 Daytona 500 had the most all-time leaders with 22.
· 2011 Daytona 500 had the most all-time Cautions with 16.
· 1968 and 2011 Daytona 500s had the most all-time Caution Laps with 60 laps each.
· The Daytona 500 has finished under NASCAR Overtime conditions seven times: 2015, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2007, 2006 and 2005.
· Due to the overtime rules in NASCAR, the longest Daytona 500 ever run was the 2010 and 2011 Daytona 500 races - both went 208 laps/520 miles - eight laps and 20 miles more than the scheduled distance.
· The largest field to compete in the Daytona 500 was 68 cars in the 1960 race.
Statistical Look At Daytona International Speedway
History
· Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was Nov. 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd.
· The first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959.
· Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.
· Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the July race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been scheduled for under the lights ever since.
· The track underwent a repave in 2010.
· 2016 marked the next phase in the existence of Daytona International Speedway as the DAYTONA Rising project was completed, ushering in the first 'motorsports stadium,' a 400-million-dollar project.
Notebook
· There have been 139 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races since the track hosted its first race in 1959: 58 have been 500 miles, 54 were 400 miles and four 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races.
· Fireball Roberts won the inaugural pole at Daytona in a Pontiac with a speed of 140.121 mph.
· Bob Welborn won the first race at Daytona, the 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
· Fireball Roberts won the first 400-mile race at Daytona, the 1963 Firecracker 400.
· 59 drivers have posted poles at Daytona - including Chase Elliott the 2016 Daytona 500 pole winner; one of six active drivers that won their first career pole at Daytona - Austin Dillon (2014), Danica Patrick (2013), Paul Menard (2008), Kevin Harvick (2002), Jimmie Johnson (2002).
· Cale Yarborough leads all drivers with 12 poles at Daytona.
· Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with two poles at Daytona.
· 60 different drivers have won at Daytona International Speedway; led by Richard Petty with 10 points-paying victories at Daytona.
· The Wood Brothers have won 15 races at Daytona, more than any other organization.
· 18 full-length races at Daytona have been won from the pole; the last to do it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2015 July race.